Old Refrigerator Energy Use

One reader steve measured the energy use of his old 1995 24 c f.

Old refrigerator energy use.

Fridge for about 100 hours each before and after cleaning the coils. This translates into a running cost of about 150 per year per fridge. He got a 6 5 reduction in energy which will save him 8 30 a year at 15 kwh. Appliance designs of 1990 s were aimed to be sleek and modern with the introduction of french style doors and stainless steel to refrigerator facades.

Your fridge is one of the most power hungry appliances in your home and depending on its age it may be costing you enough in power every year that a new one would pay for itself in a short time. Refrigerators are one of the biggest energy consumers among all your appliances. 1990 s french doors and stainless facades. Domestic fridge power consumption is typically between 100 and 250 watts.

But refrigerator energy efficiency has progressed rapidly in the last two decades and most of today s models use 25 percent or less of the energy consumed by the refrigerators of the 1970s. An old refrigerator uses a third more energy as a new energy star refrigerator. Before you think okay great now i know how much power my fridge uses sorry to say but it. A fridge in 1985 used about 1700 kwh of energy.

A 20 year old refrigerator could use 1 700 kwh of electricity every year compared with about 450 kwh for a similarly sized new energy star model. If all old refrigerators in the u s. My old whirlpool fridge used nearly 1 000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Older fridges in general use more electricity than the newer models.

At an electrical cost of 12 cents per kwh that represents a savings of 150 per year and a potential payback of about 7 9 years. Since refrigerators can sometimes keep running for decades themselves there are all sorts of fridges in today s kitchens from ancient energy hogs to. Over a full day a fridge is likely to use between 1 to 2 kilowatt hours kwh. This flip your fridge calculator is designed to provide an estimate of the savings associated with replacing or removing an old refrigerator or freezer with a new energy star certified model.

Today about 3 3 billion people are living in places where per capita electricity use is less than 1 000 kilowatt. Actual savings may vary based on use upkeep and other factors.